1. Atheism. This is the world view that says there is no God.
2. Deism. This is the world view that says God exists, but doesn't
cause miracles to happen.
3. Pantheism. This is the world view that everything is God.
4. Panentheism. This is the world view that God is continuing to
develop along with the world.
5. Finite Godism. This is the world view that God does indeed
exist but that God is limited in His power.
6. Polytheism. This is the world view that there are many gods.
Let's look at them in detail as you might recognize some of them.
1. Atheism. This is basically the view that God does not exist. Only about 5% of people believe this way.
2. Deism. This is the belief that God is indeed a good and loving
God. Actually, it is quite similar to the Christian view except for one basic flaw: God does not intervene and there are no miracles nor are prayers answered. Classically referred to by the example of comparing God to a watchmaker who makes the watch, winds it up, and let lets it alone to finally run down. This came from the 18th century enlightenment period which placed reason above revelation, i.e., nothing supernatural nor any miracles. Some very famous deists were Thomas Hobbes, Thomas Paine as well as Benjamin Franklin. Thomas Jefferson believed in the Bible but he cut out all of the miracles. Some forms of "progressive Christianity" share a remarkably similar view.
3. Pantheism. This is a world view that has infiltrated the Christian Church, in seemingly innocent ways, e.g., in some Sunday School classes you will see the teacher, oblivious to what she/he is teaching refers to God as, "being in the beautiful trees, being in the beautiful flowers, etc." However, Christianity believes that we worship God and not what God has made. This is currently found in New Age materials you can examine in most book stores. The central focus is that "all is God and God is all." It can be seen predominantly in Hinduism, Taoism, and some forms of Buddhism. It is also the view of Western religions such as Christian Science, Scientology, Unity, and Theosophy. To the pantheist, God is an it rather than a person. Absolute pantheists truly believe that everything that we refer to as matter is all an allusion and only the mind exists. Carl Sagan writes these words, "To think we are not God is part of the illusion or dream from which we must awake. Sooner or later we must all discover that all comes from God, and all is God." Shirley MacLaine, in her book and television movie, "Out On A Limb," waves to the ocean and says, "I am God, I am God." Basically, the bottom line is that pantheists believe there is no difference between the Creator and what He has created.
4. Panentheism. This view has also been referred to as "process theology" and is taught in some Christian seminaries. The radical feminist movement has endorsed it as well as liberation theology. The central message is that God is continually changing as the world changes. God is in the process of becoming all that He can be. This belief system was originally taught by 20th century philosophers such as Alfred North Whitehead and others; however, it is in reality taken from the ideas of Plato. Basically, the bottom line is that God is not perfect but is evolving and striving for perfection. God needs our help to finally be perfect.
5. Finite Godism. This view sees God as not perfect nor all that powerful. God is basically limited in His power and as a result of this limitation, He should not be blamed for all the bad things that happen here on earth. Amazingly, Rabbi Kushner in his incredibly popular and best seller book, "When Bad Things Happen To Good People," while coping with the premature death of his son, came to this dramatic conclusion, "God wants the righteous to live peaceful, happy lives, but sometimes He can't bring that about . . . there are some things that God does not control."
6. Polytheism. This is the view that believes that there are many finite gods who reign within and over different realms of the universe. For example, Poseidon was considered the god of the sea and so they would worship Poseidon when they would go on a sea trip. If they were going into battle, they would then pray to Aries. There were many different gods for different events.
If you are very observant, you will notice various aspects of these different world views creeping into the Christian Church from time to time.
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